4.15.2008

How to Post a Comment

All right, art lovers, you're pretty quiet. I can count the comments we've gotten on this blog on one hand! But we understand. Blogs can seem like a completely different world, with an unfamiliar language and procedures. So let's break it down.

What is a "blog"? A blog is a form of online communication -- it's a very basic website that allows for interactive exchanges. One analogy would be to think of the blog as a kind of a newsletter or newspaper that any organization or individual can produce. Many people use them as an online journal, others use them to write about politics, arts and culture, sports, etc.

What is a "post"? If we stick with the newspaper analogy, posts would be the news articles -- they come with a headline and sometimes photos. Or if you're thinking about it like a journal, each post is an entry in the journal. The posts take up most of the page you see when you visit the UIMA blog at http://uima.blogspot.com/, and they go down the page in order of date, from most to least recent.

What is a "comment"? Writing a comment is comparable to writing a letter to the editor and submitting it to the newspaper. But for this letter, everything is done electronically. If you read a post and have something to say, you can comment on that specific post -- or you can just make a general comment to let us know if you like the blog, the website, the current exhibition. Whatever!

Here's how it works:

Look for the "comment" link at the bottom of the each post, under the line that says: Posted by University of Iowa Museum of Art." It will be blue and likely say "0 COMMENTS."

Click on the "comment" link. You will be taken to a page with a box for typing text on the right.

Type your thoughts/suggestions/whatever in that box.

Now comes the tricky part. Under "Choose an identity," you can choose how you wish to be recognized in your comment. You have a couple of options:

If you have your own blog or web domain, you can choose to post under that identification using the "Google/Blogger" or "OpenID" options -- but if you have a blog, you already know that!

For everyone else, I suggest clicking the "Name/URL" circle and typing in your name or an online nickname. No need to fill in the URL unless you have a website you want to include. (You can also post anonymously by clicking "anonymous," but that's no fun!)

Click "Publish your comment." You might have to enter some security letters.

Your comment is sent to the blog moderator for approval, and then added to the bottom of the post! The line now says "1 COMMENTS." Hooray!

In addition to posting comments, "Art Matters" also welcomes other writing or photo submissions. If you have written an essay about the Museum, a review of a show, or have some news to share about arts and culture in the Iowa City area, we'd be happy to consider it for publication. Submissions can be emailed to Maggie Anderson at margaret-anderson@uiowa.edu.

Want to know more? Browse the blog archive, go here for the story about the UIMA rescuing the artwork, here for some post-flood photographs, and make sure to check back often -- things are constantly changing these days!